Gannett editorial roundup for Saturday, Feb. 8

A State Department report released last week reinforces prevailing wisdom that President Barack Obama will approve the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline, but that doesn’t make it the right call.

The media and industry reaction to the document was swift and incredibly conclusive, homing in on a key finding that the 1,700-mile pipeline wouldn’t “significantly exacerbate” the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, which the president has indicated would be a deciding factor in his decision.

Among the reasons cited were the facts that production and processing of crude from Canadian oilsands continues unabated and that alternative means of moving the oil already exist.

The editorial board members at the Wall Street Journal found at least that much of the report to their liking, summing up their position under the headline, “No More Keystone Excuses.”

“The fifth environmental report on the pipeline that the State Department published late Friday afternoon ought to be the last word,” the editors wrote, “unless President Obama decides to bow again to his rich green funders.”

We’re less convinced, not having had a lot of time with the 11-volume report nor having seen a lot of independent reporting or criticism of its conclusions.

We remain skeptical of the economic benefits attributed to the pipeline’s construction, while we’re not at all skeptical of the scientific consensus that climate change is real, is generated by human activity and poses an existential threat to human civilization.

As for the conclusion that the pipeline’s construction won’t exacerbate the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, we find it difficult to swallow. Tar sands oil is nasty stuff. Making it more economically rewarding to extract and easier to transport can’t help but put more of it into the air.

This is far from a done deal. Secretary of State John Kerry will take the next three months to review the findings and comments from various agencies and the public before giving the president a recommendation.

The State Department report notwithstanding, the case for stopping the pipeline remains strong, and we believe it should be far from the last word on this debate.

Battle Creek Enquirer, Mich., Feb. 4

Honored by an epithet? ‘Redskins’ defense betrays ignorance

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apparently believes that tradition is on the side of those who want to preserve the Washington Redskins nickname. No doubt those who supported racial segregation felt much the same, and they probably had public opinion polls to back their convictions.

It didn’t make their positions any less racist or harmful, and history ultimately discredited their intransigent bigotry. In time, it will be the same with the defenders of the Washington Redskins moniker.

Until then, we’ll have to stomach comments like those Goodell made at his annual Super Bowl week news conference trying to defend something for which there can be no defense — that being the commercial exploitation of a people nearly exterminated from a continent for no other reason than they were in the way.

“Let me remind you,” Goodell said. “This is the name of a football team, a football team that’s had that name for 80 years and has presented the name in a way that it has honored Native Americans.”

Yes, Mr. Goodell, it’s a football team — perhaps not a very good one by the standards of National Football League fans, but good enough to be valued at about $1.7 billion, according to Forbes, with annual revenue closing in on $400 million and an operating income of more than $100 million.

It’s difficult to decide which is more offensive — the stubbornness with which people defend a name that they wouldn’t dare (we hope) call a Native American to his or her face, or the at-best delusional claim that it somehow honors their traditions and place in American history.

The Washington Redskins and the NFL aren’t defending people; they’re defending an iconic and lucrative brand. To claim otherwise is beyond insulting to the generations of people whose ancestors suffered centuries of unimaginable cruelty, poverty, treachery and injustice at the hands of the European conquerors, wrongs that remain unresolved to this day.

Goodell even trotted out a decade-old poll that found 9 of 10 Native Americans supported the name. Even if it were true today — and it’s not — it would be irrelevant. Public opinion is an effective ally in the pursuit of justice, but it’s no substitute for doing the right thing.

We’re not dismissive of the emotions that cloud this debate. Many of the people on this editorial board and the staff of this newspaper are the products of traditions that included native and tribal icons in our high schools, universities — even our childhood summer camps.

It’s difficult to re-examine those traditions and our complicity in their existence, particularly as we intended no harm and perhaps even believe that, in our own way, we were honoring native people.

But today we know better. We know the use of Native American mascots and the stereotypes they perpetuate are detrimental to children of Native American descent.

We know from extensive research that even so-called positive stereotypes, because they are more likely to be accepted, perpetuate the racist origins behind those stereotypes.

Yes, some people, including some Native Americans, see the mascots as an opportunity honor Native American heritage and educate the public about the indigenous nations of North America.

The problem is that the use of Native American imagery should be understood in the context of history that includes conquest, forced relocation and organized efforts to eradicate native cultures.

Sports mascots certainly don’t convey that context, and it’s a good bet that people in the front office have no interest in doing so. It doesn’t get gate, and it doesn’t sell merchandise.

It would be nice if the NFL commissioner, or the owner of the NFL franchise in our nation’s capital, were really interested in something far more important, that being respect for basic human dignity and the oneness of humankind.

Clearly, they’re not there yet.

Battle Creek Enquirer, Mich., Feb. 2

More than ever, we can’t afford to waste our water

Absent a Fabulous February or perhaps a Miracle March, this is going to be a tough year for water users in Northern Nevada, as in much of the West.

When the experts went into the mountains to measure the snowpack on Friday, the last day of January, the numbers were pretty grim: the Truckee River Basin was found to be just 15 percent of average, the Lake Tahoe Basin was at 25 percent, the Walker River was 26 percent and the Carson River was 32 percent.

It is going to take one heck of a snowstorm to get us back to anywhere near normal for the 2014 water season. No one should count on it.

Northern Nevada isn’t alone.

For the first time in the 54-year history of the California State Water Project, officials say they won’t send any water from the state’s reservoirs to local agencies beginning in the spring, affecting the water supplies of 25 million people and irrigation for one million acres of farmland. Farmers who rely on a separate system of federal reservoirs and canals expect to receive just a fraction of their normal allocations. (As though things weren’t already tough enough for farmers in the West, a report on Monday said that a week of freezing temperatures in December will wipe out one-quarter of California’s citrus industry this year.)

Residents of Reno-Sparks probably won’t feel the direct effects of the ongoing drought — the word is used with some hesitation because this area seemingly is in a perpetual state of water deficit — for at least a few years, thanks to the water that local agencies put into storage in better years. As in California, however, ranchers and farmers are going to have a considerably tougher time if there isn’t a significant increase in the snowpack. Even those who have access to well water to make up for the loss of surface irrigation will see their costs rise exponentially.

The dry spell, which has continued even as parts of the Southeast and East have been digging out of unusual snowstorms, will raise new questions about the effects of climate change, whether natural or man-made, on the nation’s resources and how well we are prepared to deal with it. When drought is felt on the farmlands of the West, it’s also sure to be felt in grocery stores throughout the country.

Locally, it will raise new questions about growth at the same time as the construction and real estate industries are starting to show signs of life after a devastating few years following the recession and the collapse of the mortgage banking industry. It might even revive those silly old questions about tourists from water-short California coming to Reno to luxuriate with lengthy showers at our expense.

Much has changed in the Truckee Meadows since the days when those questions were front and center. The advent of water meters, for instance, has cut water consumption. The Truckee River agreement has given the Truckee Meadows Water Authority the ability to put water away for a nonrainy day.

But the dry spell also should serve as a reminder that water remains a precious commodity in Northern Nevada and the West. With the snowpack a fraction of normal, conservation is as important as it’s been in recent memory. Water, now more than ever, is a resource that we simply cannot afford to waste.

Reno Gazette-Journal, Nevada, Feb. 4

Congress’s failure to act on immigration hurts U.S.

For a brief moment this winter, it appeared that Congress might just take up a long-overdue immigration bill.

An agreement on a budget without all the last-minute threats and foofaraw that marked earlier attempts to win approval of a federal spending plan seemed to indicate that the two parties had, for at least a little while, decided that it was better to get some work done for American public than to continue the Washington, D.C., blame game.

And then, last week, Republican leaders put out what they said were the principles that would guide any discussion of a comprehensive immigration bill. Granted, there wasn’t anything new in the document and the leadership made it clear that the House would not take up an immigration bill already passed by the Senate. But the list of principles at least suggested that there was now a starting point for new discussions between Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

As reported by Gannett’s Erin Kelly on Sunday, there was bipartisan applause in Nevada’s congressional delegation. A spokesman for Republican Rep. Joe Heck of Las Vegas said the congressman “is glad House leadership is moving forward on an issue that is important to him and his district.”

“As he has previously stated, he believes we must reform our current broken immigration system,” the spokesman said, “and wants immigration-related bills brought to the floor for amendment and a vote.”

Democratic Rep. Dina Titus of Las Vegas agreed. “Comprehensive immigration reform is an economic and moral necessity,” she said. “This proposal is a first step, but I hope that my Republican colleagues will go further and work with Democrats to support bipartisan legislation.”

Don’t believe it. There isn’t going to be any immigration legislation this year. Maybe not for many years to come. Conservative members of the House made that very clear on Wednesday.

“I don’t see how you get to an outcome this year with the two bodies in such a different place,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters.

What he meant to say was that, with an election looming that optimistic Republicans believe will tip the Senate back in their favor, they are not going to do anything that might be construed as giving Democrats even the most minor victory. Nor are they going to do anything that might set off their conservative base — like discussing issues with the other side. (Like many of his fellow Republicans, O’Connell is being challenged from his right in his bid for another term.)

What we’re getting is a lot of fine talk about bipartisanship and precious little action. After all, regardless of what happens in November’s election short of a veto-proof margin in both houses, Republicans will still have to deal with a Democrat in the White House. Of course, there’s a presidential election in 2016; surely an immigration system that Republicans and Democrats alike agree is “broken” can wait two more years...

It can’t.

The continued uncertainty is hurting the U.S. economy. It’s encouraging states to try to take action on their own, thus creating a patchwork of laws, enforcement efforts and court cases. And it’s making members of Congress on both sides look like partisan hacks.

Is this really the best our leaders can do?

Reno Gazette-Journal, Nevada, Feb. 6

Seeger’s songs and actions leave indelible legacy

“Sailing down my golden river,

Sun and water all my own,

Yet I was never alone . . .

Sunlight glancing on the water,

Life and death are all my own,

Yet I was never alone.”

During his storied career, Pete Seeger poured everything into his songs, never forgot the downtrodden and always recognized the compelling need for each generation to do its part to protect the environment with great zeal.

Seeger, who died of natural causes on Jan. 27, was literally a local legend. He wrote or contributed to the writing of some classic tunes that make up America’s songbook — “If I Had a Hammer,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” “We Shall Overcome” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” among them.

Though he may have fancied himself a simple banjo player, Seeger was known throughout the world, is a member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and has inspired countless musicians over the decades including Bruce Springsteen, who released a 2006 tribute album focusing on Seeger’s work.

Seeger’s songs of peaceful protests embraced justice and called for actions against those who would fuel the fires of intolerance and hatred.

But the Fishkill resident went well beyond living the life of a musical icon — he played a pivotal role in drumming up support to clean the Hudson River of pollutants, and he seemingly was always available when an environmental or community group needed a big name to lure people to local fundraisers.

Seeger, a native of Putnam County, traveled the American countryside but the Hudson Valley remained his home. After dropping out of Harvard University, where he was studying under a scholarship, Seeger found himself in Washington, D.C., where he was exposed to countless songs about railroads and farmers through the Library of Congress’ Archive of American Folk Song.

He helped bring new life to these songs — and created many others with the likes of Woody Guthrie. He always was active in social movements, especially during the turbulent 1960s and the protests of the Vietnam War.

But Seeger never forgot about his local roots, nor his love for the Hudson River.

In the late ’60s, he launched the hand-built Hudson River Sloop Clearwater to call attention to the river’s rich history. To this day, the vessel provides hands-on experience and education to students and groups throughout the Hudson region. The “Clearwater” movement has grown in other ways, most notably through an environmental organization taking that name and a festival that attracts more than 10,000 people each year to the river at Croton Point Park in Westchester.

It’s no wonder that tributes came pouring in Tuesday, with everyone from President Barack Obama to the music legends who worked with Seeger praising the deeds of the great songwriter and activist.

Seeger did, indeed, live a full life. And through his music and movements, he will live on.

Poughkeepsie Journal, N.Y., Jan. 28

Farm bill reveals nature of compromise

It charts the country’s farming policies for at least the next five years.

It determines how billions of dollars will be spent on crop subsidies, conservation programs — and food stamps.

And, in this particular case, it may just be an example of what congressional compromise looks like.

After years of wrangling, the House of Representatives has passed and sent to the Senate a massive farm bill that will cost nearly $100 billion a year but scales back, albeit not far enough, subsidies to megafarms while also offering a tough compromise to slow the growth of the country’s food-stamp program.

Overall, the bill is designed to save around $1.65 billion a year, which is a step in the right direction.

Both Democrats and Republicans gained and lost in this battle — and that is precisely what is going to happen anytime congressional leaders and the president move the country forward with sweeping legislation.

The bill ends, for the most part, direct payments to farms through subsidies, a long-awaited change considering that in many cases farmers were getting this money whether they actually grew the crops in question or not and regardless of market prices. Instead, the legislation will plow money into protecting farmers through insurance programs that will greatly aid them during the toughest of times, which makes far more sense.

What’s more, numerous provisions will help New York’s smaller farms and growing dairy industry. Both U.S. Reps. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, and Sean Patrick Maloney, D-Cold Spring, serve on the House Agricultural Committee and voted in favor of the bill. They cite, in part, the more favorable terms for New York’s specialty growers and provisions that make it easier for the state’s dairy farms, which have benefited greatly from the popularity of Greek yogurt and other products, to expand.

Regarding food stamps, the bill would cut about $800 million a year, or about 1 percent, from the $80 billion-a-year Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

House Republicans had sought a much larger reduction, between 3 percent and 5 percent, pointing to the growth of the program over the last decade and believing more oversight is needed to eliminate waste and make sure the subsidies area available for those truly in need.

The Senate wanted a $400 million reduction annually to this aspect of the farm bill but a majority of senators are amenable to the higher figure ultimately agreed upon in the House.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., however, is not one of those senators. She has repeatedly expressed concerns about the tougher standards being imposed for the so-called “heat and eat” program. This enhances SNAP benefits for New Yorkers and others who also are helped through the Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The ramifications of this change do bear watching, both on the people needing these programs and the states helping to deliver these services.

While also expressing concerns about the SNAP reductions, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he supports the bill on balance as does President Obama.

Frankly, this bill doesn’t bring the radical changes that many had hoped for when the process started, but the results represent solid progress and are far better than the protracted stalemates that have occurred far too frequently on other important issues facing the nation.

Poughkeepsie Journal, N.Y., Feb. 1

Baldwin’s a champion

Doug Baldwin’s performance Sunday night in Super Bowl XLVIII might have introduced himself to much of America, but here, in Northwest Florida, he’s no stranger.

We’ve watched Baldwin grow up while playing Salvation Army football as a boy, and competing for Gulf Breeze High as a teen before playing at Stanford. In 2011, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent and showed the National Football League he was worthy to play. In just three years, he has become an important member of the Seahawks’ offense.

He’s also become a solid role model as a professional athlete, where they sometimes are in short supply. Ever the goodwill ambassador for his team, Baldwin, 25, made time to appear on “Mike & Mike” on ESPN2 TV and radio shortly after 5 a.m. Pensacola time. Clearly hoarse and exhausted from the game and late-night celebration, he was nonetheless generous with his time and said winning the Super Bowl fulfilled a childhood dream since he was 6 or 7 years old.

Baldwin’s family invited us to share the excitement of Doug’s first Super Bowl. They show the value of a close-knit family contributing to the character of the man they affectionately call “Little Dougie” and his career development. Families could learn from their strong support from childhood to manhood.

Baldwin’s success also showed the value of having dreams and working to achieve them.

“It’s an amazing feeling to see my nephew play from The Salvation Army field to the NFL and now to the Super Bowl,” Monica Baldwin, Doug’s aunt, told reporter Matt Foster. “That is the most awesome feeling that his Auntie and his family could ever have. He’s going out and doing exactly what he set his heart on (as a kid).

“He loves his family, he loves the NFL and he loves football. He’s had a football in his hand since he was 12 months old.”

If last week’s rain, freezing temperatures and subsequent layer of ice had an upside, it’s that it was a reminder we need to be prepared for an emergency that could leave us without electricity and stranded without food.

It’s the same scenario — without the icy, bone-rattling temperatures — that happens during a tropical storm or hurricane. That’s why it’s vital each of us is prepared to ride out the storm then stay self-sufficient for three days. Every car on the road during and after an emergency makes it that much more difficult for emergency personnel to respond to real emergencies and for work crews and others to assess damage.

That’s why we support Gov. Rick Scott’s push for a 15-day hurricane sales-tax holiday. Not only will taxpayers save a projected $20 million, the News Service of Florida reports, but it will encourage residents in the two-county area to purchase items that will keep them prepared.

Here are some of the items that would be sales-tax-free:

•
Flashlights and other self-powered lights selling for $20 or less.

•
Portable self-powered radios, two-way radios, or weather band radios that sell for $50 or less.

•
Tarps or other flexible waterproof sheeting that sells for less than $50.

•
First-aid kits that cost under $30.

•
Packets of AA, C, D, 6-volt, and 9-volt batteries that sell for less than $30.

•
Portable generators worth less than $750.

It’s a sensible list with items vital to helping residents survive a storm. We particularly like that batteries are included since they are always in short supply as a storm approaches.

The News Service of Florida reports Scott also will ask lawmakers to extend the back-to-school, sales-tax holiday on clothes, supplies and electronics to 10 days, a measure we also support.

The school sales tax has been estimated as being a $60 million hit to state and local revenue. Again, it helps families prepare their children adequately for the school year.

With a projected budget surplus in the state, we suggest the best way to handle it is to give some of it back to the residents through a break on sales tax on these important items.

We hope the legislature agrees with Gov. Scott and us that anything that helps Floridians prepare for a storm is good for the state.

Pensacola News Journal, Fla., Feb. 3

TIFs wear out welcome

Typical of government: If an idea works succeeds once, then expand and use it nearly everywhere, and ignore the consequences. Such is the case with tax increment financing (TIF) districts. There are 29 of them in Delaware County and Muncie, ranging in size from just over 10 acres to more than 1,000.

TIFs are an economic development tool designed to spur growth in areas where little exists, or areas that are considered blighted. When used judiciously, they are beneficial. When overused, they become hoarders, soaking up all the tax revenue they generate and refusing to give any back to where it’s desperately needed. What accountability that exists to oversee a TIF district often goes unseen by the public.

Here’s how they work: After a TIF district is created, property taxes generated from new construction and development within the TIF, instead of going to the usual taxing units such as schools, libraries and municipalities, are set aside and invested back in the area to promote development. Most often, money is spent on infrastructure improvement such as roads, curbs, sidewalks or utilities. Funds are also used to pay off TIF bonds, which can take up to 30 years. Funds can accumulate, but do not have to be spent within the TIF.

To look at it another way, a TIF is borrowing based on anticipated increases in property tax revenue. When a project ends and the bonds are repaid, the TIF is supposed to disappear and the tax revenue spread to all taxing units.

The trouble is, in Delaware County these districts never seem to go away, the result being that libraries, schools and other taxing units see potential funds siphoned off. Redevelopment commissions (made up of members not directly elected) that established the original TIF tap funds for other projects. Example: The Morrison Road TIF in Muncie paid for replacing Muncie fire equipment in 2009.

TIFs have helped spur development around Muncie Mall, Sallie Mae and the downtown area. Muncie’s TIFs have spurred about $61 million in new investment. There is no question they are a vital redevelopment tool for acreage within the TIF.

So what’s wrong with that? Muncie taxpayers didn’t see their taxes go up and the city didn’t have to issue bonds or find another way to buy fire equipment. And no one can argue that the city and county are better off than they could have been without TIFs.

Here’s the trouble: As more land is swallowed up in TIF districts, it forces existing tax units such as schools, townships, libraries and municipalities to rely on stagnant tax revenues. It also increases tax pressure on areas surrounding TIFs to pay for normal municipal services. As tax rates rise, more people hit the tax cap threshold. As that happens, schools and other tax units lose money due to the caps.

TIFs limit the funds available to the general funds of taxing units until the TIF is dissolved. In Delaware County, that rarely happens.

Virginia Nilles, director of the Muncie Public Library system, says the library has lost tax revenue (not only because of TIFs but other factors as well) the past four years, and she expects the trend to continue. While she is not against TIFs and other economic development tools, she’s frustrated by the difficulty of obtaining information on their impact on the library. “Everything seems to be geared toward taking revenue away,” she said.

The library has been forced to cut staff and curtail operations as revenue has not kept pace.

Muncie’s public schools have also had to contend with a stagnant tax base, caused in part by TIFs. After losing a referendum last November to pay for bus transportation expenses, school administrators are contemplating cuts from the general fund to continue bus service, as ordered by the state.

However, it’s easier to put a figure on potential lost revenue. According to figures provided by MCS and the auditor’s office, a whopping $146,592,145 of the tax base within Center Township has been consumed by TIFs. That’s 4.64 percent of the total tax base, based on 2013 figures.

Morrison Road TIF has helped create $74 million in new investment over the years, and raises about $1.5 million annually in property taxes. There are sufficient funds to pay off the bonds, but economic redevelopment officials have not done so. In fact, more bonds have been issued.

Redevelopment officials show no signs of slowing TIF proliferation. Already, plans are under way to designate 1,000 acres on Muncie’s south side as the South Muncie Economic Development Project Area by expanding an existing TIF and adding new acreage. Not only is this a land grab, it’s a tax money grab that locks up funds for use within the TIF, or for pet projects that often do not benefit everyone in Muncie.

Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and professor of economics at Ball State University, says TIFs have been a mixed bag for employment, wages and property values.

Hicks said it appears that TIFs tend to be correlated with higher effective tax rates and higher growth rates, which implies that TIFs are driving up tax rates on other properties within a county. Wrote Hicks: “I think it’s safe to say that on average, TIFs ought to be viewed as having an impact that ranges from very modest and benign, to poor. Obviously, this means that some might be good and some bad.”

He added there is no good rule of thumb about size, use or scope that has proven successful.

We could be approaching a tipping point where more TIFs will be detrimental. That’s not what the citizens want, nor should redevelopment officials. What’s required is more transparency in how the districts are established, who benefits, who doesn’t and establishing guidelines for dissolving a TIF instead of keeping them for years after bonds should have been paid off.

California saw the danger of TIFS and banned their use. Indiana would do well to pass legislation to speed the payoff of bonds and sunset TIF districts that have well exceeded their useful life.

At a minimum, that would add some public accountability that is sorely lacking now.

The Star Press, Muncie, Ind., Feb. 2

Farrow’s sexual abuse allegation carries lesson

To this day, Dylan Farrow is tortured by her personal Woody Allen storyline.

Farrow claims that Allen, the famous movie director who was her adoptive father, sexually assaulted her when she was 7.

Authorities investigated the 1992 allegations but came to differing conclusions. Allen was never charged, let alone convicted. Now 28, Dylan Farrow has raised the allegations anew because Hollywood’s adulation of Allen makes her sick.

None of us knows what, if anything, happened between Farrow and Allen. But it would be immoral to dismiss Farrow’s account, published on New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof’s blog on Saturday, as a “he-said, she-said” story.

Indeed, even the term “he-said, she-said” is revolting because it implies society’s inability to confront sexual abusers.

We know that Dylan Farrow’s account of an assault during her childhood has all the hallmarks of sexual abuse by a trusted family member or friend.

We know that the now-adult woman was willing to put it all on the line to disclose a nightmarish episode that resulted in years of therapy and repair.

We know that Allen maintains it never happened. But that is exactly what predators say. He says she made up the story at the urging of her mother, Mia Farrow. Again, that’s what predators say. His defenders say there is no way that Allen could have abused the girl because her mother would have known. But predators are marvelously adept at operating in secret and coaching their victims to remain silent ... to believe the abuse is a normal part of life.

Go back and watch “Manhattan,” Allen’s valentine to New York City. In it, he plays a character infatuated with a 17-year-old girl, played by Mariel Hemingway. It was creepy then and creepier now.

Creepier still was Allen’s courtship and eventual marriage to another of Mia Farrow’s adopted children, Soon-Yi Previn. Mia Farrow was in a longtime relationship with Allen when she discovered that he was sexually involved with Soon-Yi, who was 21 at the time. He was 56. The two married in 1997.

Again, we may never know what happened or didn’t happen when Dylan Farrow was 7. But we do know Woody Allen’s private life appears to follow the same storyline as many pedophiles.

That could be just an unfortunate coincidence, one that has gained undeserved notoriety. Or it could be that too many people felt it was more important to protect a man’s reputation than to stand up for a victim of sexual abuse.

Statesman Journal, Salem, Ore., Feb. 5

State of the Union

President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address was fine — neither terrific nor tepid. It was a litany of minor goals that he hopes to accomplish during the coming year, as well as good news about the national economy’s improvement.

But there was no stirring message — no uniting call to action — that would bring our nation together.

Statesman Journal, Salem, Ore., Jan. 31

Sandy aid probe is long overdue

The call by U.S. Reps. Frank J. Pallone Jr. and Bill Pascrell Jr., both D-N.J., for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate and independently monitor New Jersey’s use of federal Sandy recovery funds is long overdue.

The Christie administration has not been forthcoming about any aspect of the distribution of the aid. Perhaps the federal government can loosen the administration’s tongue.

HUD should start by investigating the hiring and firing of Hammerman and Gainer Inc., a Sandy housing recovery firm that was awarded a three-year, $68 million contract in May to distribute $780 million in Sandy aid. The state ended the deal in December by paying the firm a $7 million termination fee, but it didn’t announce that publicly until last week. And it provided no explanation for its actions.

In some ways, it isn’t surprising that HGI was given the boot. It has been rightly criticized for poor performance, with Sandy victims and advocates airing a long list of grievances ranging from confusing grant rejections to lack of clarity in how to get help. Those criticisms echoed the ones leveled against the company following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In addition to investigating the termination of the contract, HUD should take a look at how the contract was awarded in the first place. HGI competed against only one other bidder, a likely consequence of the fact that companies were only given five days to submit their proposals back in April. HUD also should explore whether a $25,000 donation by HGI’s law firm, Capehard Scatchard, to the Republican Governors Association shortly before HGI received the contract was a coincidence.

Lisa Ryan, spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Affairs, declined to say whether a new contract would be awarded to replace HGI’s. She would only state that other state contractors are taking over HGI’s work at least temporarily. This puts the process in a kind of limbo — a place victims of Sandy can ill afford to be.

As Pallone and Pascrell noted in their letter to HUD, “We fought too hard for these federal disaster recovery dollars to stand by while they are recklessly mismanaged.”

HUD needs to come up with answers to questions about what went wrong — real answers, not the kind of administration doubletalk we’ve been hearing: “The conclusion of our relationship with HGI was coordinated and efficient with no interruption in services following a mutual agreement between the parties as the state transitions into the next phase of the housing recovery programs,” Ryan said.

She also said that the administration will “cooperate with HUD in any and all reviews of Sandy CDBG Disaster Recovery programs ... We are confident any review will show the state continues to manage Sandy recovery funds in the best interests of the people of New Jersey.”

We are not so confident. The federal government has an obligation to find out.